Jon's 2nd build: GSM-1

[jonwhitear]

The bridge and tail piece holes where out about 2.5mm as well. Plus there was no earth wire hole to the bridge. The fretboard needed a few cracks filled plus 2 frets needed gluing down. Other then that it went well.

Ouch, sounds like an uphill battle! I'm happy with my kit - it all measures up well. I've found a couple of small dings, but I have a feeling they've been made by me ;-)

[jonwhitear]

I used a Dremel with a drum sander attachment to reduce the step on my neck heel. I didn't remove it completely, in order to benefit form some extra neck rigidity, but moved the flat heel curve back by about 2cm and modified the neck/heel transition curve to suit so it was a much more gentle one.

Simon, thanks for your advice on both the finish and the heal.

Finish wise, I've been trying to find some mahogany offcuts to try a few things out on, but I'm struggling. I can get mahogany knife blanks on eBay at a reasonable price, but postage is expensive and/or slow. In Sydney, it seems the timber suppliers who carry mahogany are well outside town. I might just have to go ahead without testing it, on the basis that if it all turns to custard, I can sand it back and start again.

I think I'm going to try your approach with the heal, i.e. not remove it completely, just move the step back towards the body and gently transition it from there. No Dremel for me, so rasp to is ;-)

[Simon Barden]

I did start off using a rasp, it's just a bit slower.

Here's what I ended up with:

[jonwhitear]

I've had a chance to spend quite a lot of time on this build over the last couple of days. I got the headstock shaped, the heal shaped, the timber mate on, and a few coats of stain. Here are the results. I can't decide whether I like the striped effect from the stain being taken up unevenly, or whether I hate it. I might have to put a coat of oil on before I decide.



I was aiming for a mahogany / black burst, and I think the black burst part of that worked OK. The mahogany has come out rather pink though. I started with two coats of Feat Watson Mahogany, diluted 1 part stain to 2 parts colour reducer. Then I went around the edges with Feast Watson Black diluted 1 part stain to 3 parts colour reducer, working it in with a separate swab of cloth.

I might add another coat of mahogany tomorrow, and see how it looks then.

[jonwhitear]

I did start off using a rasp, it's just a bit slower.

Here's what I ended up with:

That looks good. You've made a much neater job of it than I did. I love that finish as well.

[Simon Barden]

Thanks. It's still not sanded flat or polished yet.

[jonwhitear]

I've made some more progress on the finish. Here are a few photos. Lots of coats of Tru Oil, and I've just wet sanded w/ 1200 grit. I think I'l leave it for a week or so now before polishing. The finish isn't perfect by a long way but I'm scared of sanding through again.

I can't decide whether I'll fit the scratch plate or not. At the moment, I'm leaning towards "not". I also have some chrome pickup rings on their way. I haven't set the neck yet - these photos are a mock build.

[McCreed]

Looking good. I like the subtleness of the burst.

[JimC]

Very unusual and interesting. Nice job.
I think the scratchplate would be a bit too much black. Your chrome rings sound like a good idea.

[Simon Barden]

As you’ll have chrome rings, I’d stick with the original general idea and don’t use a scratchplate. But I’d get some silver knobs and a chrome switch tip as well (you may have to buy a new switch that comes with one to guarantee a good fit).

Downside of no scratchplate is that the body will get scratched. So it’s important to wait a good while for the finish to cure and harden properly to minimise the effects if playing on the finish. Alternatively you coukd see if you can get a clear or mirrored scratchplate that will compliment the overall look.